The leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army say they have moved their command centre from Turkey to Syria.
Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh, who heads the FSA’s Military Council, told The Associated Press that the move aims to unite all rebel groups. He said on Saturday that the move was made the week before, without specifying its new location.
FSA commander Col. Riad al-Asaad issued a video titled “Free Syrian Army Communiqué Number 1 from Inside” that the command has moved to “liberated areas.”
The FSA has been the most prominent of the rebel groups trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power. But its commanders have come under criticism in the past for leading from Turkey, and its authority over numerous locally-based networks of fighters is limited.
Clash near Jordan border
Meanwhile, Syrian activists say rebels and government troops have fought a fierce battle near the border with Jordan that last several hours.
The activists say the fighting in and around the Syrian border town of Nassib continued until dawn on Saturday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there were casualties on both sides without giving figures.
Mohammed Abu Houran, an activist in the area, says the rebels first attacked an air defence base near Nassib and as they were withdrawing they clashed with Syrian border guards.
Nassib is in the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March 2011.
The uprising later turned into a civil war that has claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 people, activists say.
